Mutation
by Cactus Bob
Summary: The world has changed. When Yugi finds that he is the only human in a group of Mutations, he wonders if being normal is everything it's cracked up to be, especially when an old enemy returns with a mutation of his own.
1. Just the Beginning

This story is based on ye olde "evolution theory" setting so often used in shows like Heroes and X-Men. I don't believe anyone particularly "owns" this setting, but I wanted to say for the record that—as you well know—I did not invent the "evolution theory" setting.

Yu-Gi-Oh! © Kazuki Takahashi

* * *

"_Only the foolish believe that suffering is just wages for being different," _– Cheshire Cat, American McGee's Alice

* * *

Atem stared at his crystal-clear reflection in the bathroom mirror. He felt more tangible now that he wasn't see-through, now that he was in the modern world, now that he wasn't sharing Yugi's body anymore.

But at the same time, he felt a little separated from himself. Perhaps it was a side-effect of coming back to life after five thousand years. But a part of him didn't fit, or something wasn't right, as if he hadn't explored all the chambers of his mind yet and there was a very important piece of him still lying inside, undiscovered.

As he stared deep into his aubergine eyes, he wondered what lay behind them. There were some more mysteries deep in store for him, there had to be…

He sighed. He was being overly dramatic because of a small identity crisis. His time for mysteries and adventures was over. He was a normal kid now, difficult as it would be to accept, and he wouldn't be out saving the world or searching for his lost memories. He would be starting eleventh grade.

Yugi knocked on the bathroom door. "Um, Atem?" he asked tentatively through the wood. "I know you're not going to the bathroom in there." How Yugi knew that, Atem didn't want to ask. "What's wrong?"

"Come in, Yugi," Atem said, and Yugi walked inside and sat on the toilet. Yugi stared at him, wordlessly entreating him to explain. "Have you ever felt that this life is a little… monotonous?" Atem asked.

"No," Yugi replied simply. "Even after everything we've done together, I don't feel that."

"How?" Atem asked. "Unlike you, I just can't seem to accept that my adventures are over."

Yugi shrugged. "Well, maybe _your_ adventures aren't. If you think that you still have something left to do then… I'll be right here for you when you have to do it!" Atem smiled gratefully and hugged him sideways.

"Thank you," he said softly. Yugi began to walk out of the bathroom when all of a sudden Atem gasped in pain and held his arm. Yugi spun around.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked. Atem dropped to one knee and began to shake violently. Yugi rushed back over to him. "Atem, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked again.

Reddish foam began to spurt from Atem's mouth. "Yugi…" he choked, and he collapsed onto his side, convulsing. Yugi was about run to call the hospital when he saw perfectly circular red marks form in a long line all down the outside of Atem's arms. The circles grew redder and redder until blood began to pour from them.

Yugi knew that this wasn't a normal illness, and he knew that the hospital wouldn't have any idea of how to treat it. Atem's convulsions slowly diminished, but he was still breathing. The bleeding on his arms slowed as well, but it was still severe enough to form a pool that leaked into the hallway.

Since he couldn't call the hospital, Yugi would need to employ the little first aid that he knew to stop Atem's bleeding. He grabbed a large amount of gauze from the medicine cabinet and pulled Atem off the floor onto his lap.

* * *

It was a comfortable temperature… seventy-one and a half degrees, to be precise… but how could he have known that? The air pressure was fair, and the humidity wasn't great enough to bother anyone… Someone had an electric light on, fluorescent, so it must have been evening. The window was open and let in a light east-bound breeze… but how could he have known that?

His eyes were closed; he could see nothing. The room was nearly silent. Yet there was someone there with him… someone very sleepy, but terribly worried and horribly concerned.

Atem forced his lead-heavy eyelids to open, and they blinked at the fierce light. Yes, it was evening, and yes, the window was open, and yes, Yugi was sitting with his eyes half-closed in a desk chair next to him, but how could he have known that?

"Yugi…?" he muttered. He wanted to push himself up, but he felt amazingly weak. His arms could barely move.

"Hey," Yugi said gently. "You lost a lot of blood, so you shouldn't try to exert yourself too much."

"What happened?" Atem croaked through a hoarse throat. "I remember a pain in my arms… and then…" He stopped. For the first time, he noticed the strange sensation in his arms. It was different from numbness—it was a cacophony of feelings. It was as if he felt everything that his arms touched more clearly than ever, but then again, it wasn't quite his arms that were feeling everything…

Yugi put a comforting hand on Atem's chest. Atem's eyes searched the ceiling for unfound answers. "It happened while you were asleep," he explained. "D-don't worry, Atem, it's going to be fine. It doesn't matter that you're one of them…"

One of them? One of them!? Though Atem's breathing was steady and calm, his mind was racing. "The others and I are here for you, no matter what, okay?" Yugi continued. "And other people have had mutations way worse than this…" But Yugi's eyes drifted unsurely over Atem's arms, and now Atem knew why.

Slender, three-inch-long spines extended from his arms and stuck straight out. They were black and they stood out against Atem's pale skin. Atem stared at them, hardly comprehending what he saw. "Atem, it's alright…" Yugi said softly. "D-do you need some time…?"

"No, don't go," Atem requested. His voice was still raspy, but it was strong and undistorted by emotion. So Yugi sat by quietly as Atem searched his mind for his own opinions.

Mutations had not been widely liked since they had started to appear a year ago, but that didn't matter if Yugi and the others were on his side. As for the spines themselves, their presence would be difficult to get used to, but they were oddly fulfilling—in a way, Atem felt as though they completed him, as though they were the part of him he had been missing. Being a Mutation was shocking and confusing… but it was fine, because Yugi was fine. If Yugi didn't accept Atem, Atem probably wouldn't have either.

Then Atem noticed that Yugi was still sitting in respectful silence in the desk chair. It was a little unfair to ask him not to leave and then ignore him. Atem slowly pushed himself up and leaned against his headboard. He began to cough, and Yugi rushed out of the room, presumably to get a glass of water. But he was gone for quite a while.

After about five minutes, Atem found enough strength in his limbs to pick himself out of bed and stumble around the house. Yugi was in the kitchen spontaneously preparing macaroni and cheese. He turned around as he heard Atem enter, looking disappointed and distressed. "I was making you dinner, since you haven't eaten since this morning. But you weren't supposed to get up. You're still recovering," Yugi chided.

"I'll be fine," Atem contradicted, dropping back down into a chair tiredly. "People go through this every day, remember?"

At first, Mutations were believed to be victims of a rare disease that infected and warped a person's DNA. Researchers must have spent hundreds of millions trying to design a cure, but a cure wasn't possible. The people with the mutations had been born that way, unchangeably.

More and more of these people began to surface, until the "Normals" began to identify Mutations as another race, perhaps even another species. But in the eyes of humans, different equaled bad, and many Mutations became ostracized. This was until many of those Normals began to turn into Mutations, and the new species' ostracism would have meant filling up Australia with their numbers.

All of Atem's friends had been major advocates for the Mutations since the beginning, and Atem knew that they would be his advocate as well, spines or no spines. And Atem would accept himself in time as well… it would just take some getting accustomed to.

* * *

Yugi stared at Atem's spines. He couldn't help himself. After the first day or so, they had proved themselves to be more like tentacles than spines, really. When Atem was in an angry or anxious mood, they would shrink to three inches and become stiff. When he was sad or tired, his spines would deflate and hang limply by his arms. When he was happy, his spines would double in length and writhe freely.

The writhing motion made Yugi sick to his stomach, and he was angry at himself for that. No part of Atem should disgust him. But no matter how much Yugi tried to ignore them, their wriggling drew his eyes back, making his stomach turn in nausea once again.

He was supposed to be concentrating on the movie that he and Atem were watching together, but it wasn't happening. Yugi would be grateful if he came out of this movie with only a general idea of the plot.

Atem's eyes flicked toward him, glittering with amusement. Yugi immediately looked away, but Atem had already noticed him. "Something wrong?" Atem asked.

"N-nothing," Yugi stammered. Atem grinned and turned back to the movie. Yugi tried to force his sight back to the movie as well, but as soon as he did he felt the repugnantly smooth feeling of scales against his skin, as if a dozen garter snakes had suddenly slithered into the house and wrapped themselves around his arm. Though it was late July and swelteringly hot, Yugi shuddered.

"Alright," Atem said, releasing his tentacles' hold on Yugi's arm. "I think we have something to discuss."

Yugi shook his head fervently. "No, we don't," he said quickly.

"Then explain why you continue to look at my tentacles and turn green," Atem said knowingly. "I appreciate your unfailing support of me, Yugi, just like I appreciate the support of the others, but if you're uncomfortable with me being a Mutation…"

"No! That's not it," Yugi argued. He looked down. The movie continued to play in the background. "When you're happy, your tentacles have a tendency to… _move_ a lot, and it kind of gives me goose bumps."

Atem laughed. "Are you saying you don't want me to be happy?" he asked. Yugi looked horrified, and Atem laughed even more. "Yugi, I was joking. I know that this isn't the most glamorous mutation to have, but I'm sure that you will get used to it, just as I got used to it. I'm not angry at you for being a bit grossed out; I just want to make sure that I give you enough time to adapt."

Atem cheerfully poked Yugi with one of his spines and turned back to the movie. But his tentacles writhed even more at his outburst of amusement, and Yugi felt his stomach churn once again. Atem just smiled, completely comfortable with himself, his mutation, and Yugi's reaction. And deep down, Yugi respected that more than he could say.


	2. Circles

Note: this is not a Yugi x Serenity fic. Everyone who does not like this pairing, do not fear!

* * *

"What's the occasion?" Atem laughed as Yugi practically dragged him down the street. He had sensed Yugi's excitement with his antenna-like tendrils for the last couple of days, but he didn't want to ask the cause. It would just ruin the surprise, and Yugi didn't deserve that.

"Who says I have to have an occasion?" Yugi asked, winking.

"Humanity," Atem answered shortly. "Come now, Yugi, what is it?"

Yugi smiled. "It's your birthday," he said.

Atem chuckled. "No, it's not. My birthday is somewhere around mid-December, by your calendar."

Yugi thought about it for a minute, seeming a little depressed, but his enthusiasm returned in full force. "Who cares? You can have two. I've missed what, five thousand? I'm just taking you out to lunch, anyway." Yugi once again grabbed Atem's hand and continued hurrying down the street.

When Yugi turned the corner, however, the happy cheerfulness on his face slid away, and he stared at the window of a local diner. At first, Atem didn't see what had made Yugi so dejected. "Yugi, what's wrong?" Atem asked. Then he, too, noticed the sign. It read, "No Mutations".

Yugi stormed away in a fury. All of his excitement had come crashing heavily down on him, and now he felt as if he could never forgive the faceless, heartless owner of that diner. He was offended, _deeply _offended, not just for his own sake but for Atem's. Atem seemed fine with the irrationality of some Normals, but he shouldn't have been fine. None of this was right.

And this was a symbol of the world outside the game shop, the world outside their small circle of friends. Atem would be hated and rejected. And then Yugi would have to make a choice between the world and his best friend, and he wished that that wouldn't have to happen.

"Yugi—Yugi, stop," Atem called, running up to him. Yugi had run in rage all the way back to the game shop. "It's not that bad, honestly. We could go somewhere else."

Yugi shook his head, pouting slightly. "I just wanted this to be… nice. I didn't want it to be perfect. But… is this what it's going to be like from now on?"

"I don't see every other diner doing the same thing, do you?" Atem noted. "Who knows? A few might even be _run_ by Mutations."

Yugi looked at the ground. "And what if those diners start saying 'No Normals'?"

Atem put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Then we'll eat at home. I am not going to lose you or any of the others just because of a sudden difference in species." This strange statement made Yugi give a sad, hiccup-like laugh, and Atem smiled just as sadly.

* * *

"Hey Paps, I'm goin' out," Joey muttered shortly, slipping on a jacket. He had something he needed to talk to Atem about, and it was pretty urgent. Besides, what were the odds that his father was actually listening to him? He could barely hear anything besides the television in his usual inebriated stupor.

But tonight, which could possibly be one of the most inappropriate nights ever, Joey's father decided to pick himself up off the couch and swagger over to Joey, blowing warm, alcohol-laden breath into Joey's face. "You ain't goin' anywhere," he mumbled through drunken lips. "Iss time you starte' doin' some work 'round here." He motioned aimlessly to the bottles of whiskey and the cans of beer scattered around the living room, and then he grabbed Joey's arm. "Get starte'."

Joey ripped his arm out of his father's arm in unmasked disgust. "You're da one who made this mess, and you're da one who's gonna clean it up," he argued harshly. "I got somewhere ta be."

"Don't you tell me… what ta do!" his father exclaimed. "I'm your fathe' and you gonna do what I say, hear me?" He tried to grab Joey's arm again, and Joey struggled.

"No—I'm—not!" Joey said through gritted teeth, and he pushed his father off. His father growled and lunged at him. Joey quickly dodged, accustomed to his father trying to beat him when Joey didn't obey his drunken orders.

But again, something was different this time. Joey's father took a switchblade out of his pocket and flicked it open. Joey was stunned. Before Joey could think, his father had stabbed at his stomach. Joey thought he was going to die then, killed by his father, bleeding onto the empty cans of beer on the dirty carpet. He dimly wondered what his father would do with his body.

Yet there was no blood, no pain, no growing darkness. There was nothing. Then Joey remembered. But Joey's father stared blankly at the broken blade of his knife that had been snapped on contact with Joey's skin. He didn't know why his son was still alive.

Joey ran up to his room and began to throw everything he owned into a suitcase. He heard his father screaming curses at him from downstairs.

He brushed past his father and walked into the street. He knew he wouldn't be coming back, and he was pretty sure that his father would never come to look for him. He had some money from his paper route, but not much. He wouldn't be able to afford a place of his own.

Yugi and Atem would accept him gladly, but the game shop was crowded enough already with Atem living there. Tea… well, she was a girl. And Tristan's parents were nice, but they didn't think too highly of Mutations.

The only answer was Serenity. Her mother had gotten a job that made her travel most of the year, leaving Serenity home alone. The Wheeler mother had originally intended to send Serenity to a boarding school, but Serenity asked to go move in with Joey in Domino. Serenity's mother knew better than to send Serenity back to her former husband, so she and her daughter made an arrangement—Serenity would stay in a rented house in Domino that was paid for by Serenity's mother. That way Serenity could be somewhat under Joey's supervision.

Joey walked up to Serenity's house. It looked quaint, as if she really lived there. There was a small garden in the front yard—roses, daisies, and an apple tree. Joey felt almost dirty for a moment as he walked up the suburb-style, too neat pathway to Serenity's front door. Here he was, the Mutation run-away stinking of his father's alcohol, squeezing himself into her clean little world. Would she even accept him? Would he want her to accept him?

Joey scoffed. These thoughts were way over his head. He knocked on the door and then looked at his watch. The sky still had an orange tinge, but it was late. Serenity was probably wondering who had come over at eight o'clock in the evening.

The door opened, and Serenity's hazel eyes widened as they fixed on her brother. "Hey, sis," Joey said sheepishly.

"Joey!" Serenity exclaimed. Normally, she would have smiled or hugged him, but she sensed something was wrong, especially when she noticed Joey's suitcase. "What brings you over so late?" she asked.

"I got somethin' ta tell ya," Joey admitted softly. He showed her the hole in his shirt. "Paps' knife went there."

Serenity gasped. "Joey, we need to get you to a hospital! You…" Then she noticed that Joey wasn't bleeding. "Joey, what's going on?"

"I'm one of them, Serenity. I'm a Mutation," Joey said. Serenity lifted a finger to her chin in thought while staring at the slash in Joey's shirt. "And I ain't staying with Paps anymore. I was hopin' that you'd… let me stay here, wit' you. Ya don't mind, do ya?"

She looked up and smiled, taking the news with almost absolute grace. "Of course I don't. You can stay here as long as you want, Joey. I was starting to get lonely, living here all by myself."

Serenity hugged Joey, and Joey stroked Serenity's long, auburn hair. _This _was real family.

* * *

The peaceful Mutou breakfast the next morning was disturbed by the ringing of a telephone. Atem watched as Yugi got up to answer it and blushed pink. "Hi, Serenity," Yugi mumbled into receiver. Atem couldn't help but smile as he sensed Yugi's temperature rising.

Then Atem sensed shock in Yugi. "No way," Yugi breathed. "Joey? What is it?" There was a pause as Serenity answered his ambiguous question. "Uh-huh… uh-huh… oh. That's horrible. Well, at least he's alright. Yeah, don't worry, I'll tell him. I'll… see you at school, right?" Serenity was starting as a freshman this year. Yugi, on the other hand, would be a junior. "Okay. Bye." He hung up.

Yugi turned to Atem. "Joey's a Mutation. Serenity said that Joey's power is that it's really hard for him to get hurt. Their father tried to stab him, but the knife just broke on his skin."

Atem raised his eyebrows. "Joey's father tried to _kill_ him?" he asked incredulously, more dismayed at this than at Joey's Mutation.

"He's living with Serenity now," Yugi said. "Their mom's fine with it. But she wanted to make sure that we were all alright with it before Joey told us. She didn't want him to be disappointed. That really nice of her, wasn't it?" Yugi had an amazingly out-of-character dreamy look in his eyes.

Atem laughed. "Yugi, I cannot believe you. Where do your allegiances lie?"

Yugi frowned. "What?"

"You are infatuated with Joey's little sister," Atem stated, leaning on his arm and grinning. Yugi turned a violent shade of red. "Don't deny it, Yugi, I sensed your body warm when you were talking to her. What about Tea?"

If it was possible, Yugi reddened more. Even his bangs seemed to glow scarlet. "Tea… is unavailable," Yugi muttered. "And Serenity… she's… she's…"

"Fifteen," Atem answered for him, "and Joey's younger sister." But Atem knew that his words were not penetrating Yugi's hormone-struck little heart. Yugi did care for Tea as more than a friend, he still did, but Tea didn't care for him that way, and Yugi knew it. So Yugi decided to go for the next best thing, the only other female in his circle. But it was only rebound—it wouldn't last.

"Anyway, you're not the only Mutation in the group now," Yugi said dismissively. "You and Joey have something in common." And Yugi was happy for Atem and happy for Joey, but deep down, some evil part of him was a jealous of their closeness. He didn't want Joey to understand some part of Atem that he couldn't.

It was the best for both of them that they were Mutations together. Atem wasn't alone anymore. Joey didn't have to go through it by himself either. But Tea, Tristan, and Yugi were left out of their circle, even if just a little bit.


	3. Old Enemies and Really Old Enemies

It was a scorching hot summer day in Luxor, and Marik sat sequestered in his house, avoiding the blistering sun. He leaned back in his chair, listening to the riotous mob outside. They must have been trying to pull some poor, defenseless Mutation from his car and beat him to death. It was a fairly common occurrence in Egypt.

Marik was alone. Odion was with Isis in America where they worked in the Domino Museum. Honestly, Marik had no idea why he had returned to Egypt. Maybe he had been in the hot sand for so long that nothing else would feel like home. Maybe his previous actions in Domino brought him too many feelings of guilt.

"_But we were never finished," _a voice whispered in his mind. _"We still had a job to do."_

He'd been hearing the voice for days, and it reminded him uncomfortably of the evil spirit that had once possessed him when he dueled in Battle City. _"Finished with what?" _Marik retorted bitterly, even though he already knew the answer.

"_The pharaoh's powers should have belonged to us!" _the spirit yelled in reply. _"And since we don't have the opportunity to take them anymore, we should make him pay."_

"_For what? Saving the world? Besides, we tried to stop him already, and we couldn't. The pharaoh was too strong for us."_

"_We have grown stronger." _The spirit's words struck an odd bell. What strength had they acquired? What could he have meant? _"We were never finished," _he stated again. Marik could almost hear his grin. _"Let me show you our power. Let's go back to Domino and finish what we started!"_

Something tugged on the inside of him, and Marik was pulled into darkness. After that, he could remember nothing.

* * *

"So you see, Michael, you're doing the world a favor," Marik encouraged the young man next to him. He licked the air in anticipation. Michael didn't hear anything. His brown eyes were glazed over; his mind was blank.

Marik had indeed grown stronger. Though he had not yet tapped into his abilities, he had developed his own mutation—the ability to manipulate the minds of others. This ability, though subconscious, was so powerful, so tempting, it had split his soul into two parts. The real, kind Marik was now trapped within his own mind, while the evil Marik, conscienceless and vengeful, had taken over.

Evil Marik had booked a trip to Domino completely free on account of the fact that he had possessed the employee at the ticket counter. After flying there, he had systematically interrogated person after person until he heard of a Mutation with the powers he needed. This Mutation was called Michael, and it was the man who stood before him now.

Michael possessed the extremely controversial power to raise the dead. Though Michael received pleas from people all around the city, Michael refused to use his power on any of the deceased. It violated his beliefs.

But beliefs wouldn't be causing him any trouble now that he was just a shell of a man. Marik ordered Michael into an alley. "Alright, my mind slave"—oh, how he had missed that phrase—"it's time for you to use those powers to bring back one of the most devious enemies of the pharaoh I've ever seen. Michael, resurrect Bakura!"

A swirling vortex formed at their feet. Slowly, as if swimming in mud, a hand emerged from the black whirlpool, then an arm, then a shoulder. A pale white head covered in dirt came after. The eyes were closed. The man wrenched himself out of the ground and kneeled on the asphalt, panting.

His lids opened, revealing a tortured soul. He would not be the same Bakura, Marik realized. Was this for better or for worse? Bakura stood, trembling and unsteady on his bare feet. Marik quickly entered his mind and possessed him before he could get his bearings. It would be easier that way.

"It's a shame that you had to fall so low," Marik muttered. But he had noticed something while he was in Bakura's mind. Bakura had a mutation. How odd, Marik thought. The resurrection must have had some effect on his DNA. This ability would be a powerful weapon in tormenting the pharaoh.

Of course, the simplest and most satisfying way to harass the pharaoh was to go through his friends. Yugi, naturally, was closest to him, but Marik thought that it would be best to work up to a final shattering blow to Atem's emotions. Yugi would be last. But who would be first? One of those worthless cheerleaders, Marik finally decided.

"Come on, my mind slave," Marik said to Bakura. "It's time to go fishing."

* * *

Atem sat up in bed. Even though it was the middle of the night, Atem sensed that something was wrong—terribly wrong. It made his tentacles stand on end.

But what disturbance could have been so great to have woken him up? He wanted to go back to sleep, but the thought of what was out there would have haunted him. So he climbed quietly out of bed, taking care not to disturb Yugi, who was sleeping on his own bed on the opposite end of the room. He changed his clothes and slipped out of the house undetected.

He shivered slightly. He was instinctually accustomed to Egyptian heat, and he was wearing a tank top so that his tentacles would be able to sense at their maximum ability. South… something was coming from the south. Atem started walking in that direction and continued to probe for signs.

His path was strange. He found himself walking in circles at times, or suddenly changing direction. It was as if whatever he was following was traveling much faster than he was and in many different, random directions. This would probably make the disturbance a living creature.

His tentacles took him all the way across town and up a fire escape to the top of a building. He climbed onto the roof and looked around. What he saw astonished him. "Bakura…?" he whispered disbelievingly.

The white-haired man turned around. His brown eyes were dull and lifeless. "Bakura!" Atem shouted. "How did you come back? Who helped you!?"

Bakura looked at him. "It's a shame I got to you first," he said. His voice didn't sound the same as it had before. "But I won't kill you now. That would deny me the pleasure of watching you see your dead friends."

Then, in a flash of movement so quick that it was a blur, Bakura was upon him. Before Atem could take another breath, a flurry of blows knocked the wind from his lungs. Atem felt his teeth loosen from his gums and blood drip from his nose. His cheek split and his bones broke. Then, all of a sudden, it was over, and Bakura was gone.

Atem leaned against the parapet and coughed up blood. He needed to tell Yugi… he needed to tell someone… but he didn't have the strength. His eyes closed wearily, and he passed out from the pain and the shock.

* * *

Yugi opened his eyes and looked over at the bed across from him. That was odd. Atem hadn't made up his covers. Yugi walked around the house. Atem was gone.

He immediately rushed back to the phone and called the Wheelers. The phone rang a couple of times before a half-asleep Joey picked up. He tried to yawn and speak simultaneously. "Hello?"

"Joey, have you seen Atem?" Yugi asked. He didn't even care that he was missing an opportunity to talk to Serenity. "I woke up, and he's not here."

"Mighta gone out for somethin', Yug'," Joey mumbled. "Don't worry."

"Atem wouldn't just leave and not let me know," Yugi retorted, shaking his head even though Joey couldn't see him. "Something's wrong. Joey, I don't know where he is."

Joey noticed how serious Yugi was. "Why doncha call Tea and Tristan? I'll come over too, and then we can go lookin' for him."

"Okay. Thanks, Joey." Yugi hung up, and then he called the others. They agreed to come over right away.

Yugi waited, panicking every time his mind betrayed him with horrible imaginations of what could have possibly happened to Atem. Finally he heard the jangling of keys. The person trying to open the door fumbled, dropped the keys, and then started trying again. Yugi ran downstairs and opened the door. Atem stood in front of him, covered in blood and bruises. A few of his tentacles had been severed.

He swayed and collapsed into Yugi's arms. Yugi shook under Atem's weight and had to put him down onto the ground. "Atem… Atem, wake up!" Yugi exclaimed, his voice thick with barely contained tears. He shook Atem's shoulder, and Atem took a sharp breath of agony. But he woke up.

"Yugi, it's Bakura," Atem said through shuddering, pain-filled breaths. "Bakura is alive. He wanted… to get to my friends… first…" He tried to stand up, willing to give the last of his strength for the friends that he loved, but Yugi pushed him back down with one hand.

"If you go after Bakura now, he'll kill you," Yugi said. "Let's get you to the hospital. We'll find a way to take care of Bakura."

At that moment, Tea and Joey walked up, surprised at finding a wide-open door. Then they saw Atem. "What happened?" Tea asked, horrified.

"It's Bakura. Bakura's back," Yugi explained. "He hurt Atem."

Tea kneeled down by Atem's side and took his hand in hers. "We'll find a way to deal with this, I promise," she said, and tears trickled down her face. She hung her head, and Joey crossed his arms in frustrated fury.

"I thought we'd already gotten rid o' this guy!" Joey exclaimed angrily. "Didn't he already try ta take over da world?"

"He's not trying to take over the world, Joey. He's trying to take revenge," Yugi said. "But I don't think that he was able to come back on his own. Someone else brought him back, someone who has something against Atem and wanted to take advantage of the way Bakura feels about him."

Tea stood up. Yugi looked at her, and then he looked at Atem. Atem was perfectly healthy and staring at Tea. "Tea," Yugi said, "how did you…?"

"I was going to tell you later on today," Tea said. "I found out late last night. My mom cut her hand… I didn't even know what I was doing when I touched her arm. All of a sudden she was fine, just like that. I wasn't going to try and hide it from you," she added, as if trying to justify the fact that she hadn't called them up last night. "I was just waiting for a better time."

"But you're all here, and you're all safe," Atem said, picking himself off the floor. He looked around. "Except for-"

"Tristan!" Yugi realized. "Where is he? His house is closer to here than Tea's or Joey's."

Immediately, Atem ran out of the door and headed straight for Tristan's house. The others trailed after him. Whatever happened to Tristan was his fault, Atem thought. Bakura was trying to get to him through the people that he loved. That was unacceptable. He would rather die than put his friends in danger.


	4. Dirty Word

Atem stood in the middle of Tristan's empty room. They had found the front door wide open, the house in shambles. And now Tristan was gone. "Tristan…" Atem said sadly, sinking to one knee. Yugi walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder, but Atem pushed it off and punched the ground. "This is my fault!" he yelled. "It's my fault that Tristan is gone."

"Atem, you can find him," Tea said. "You can sense where Tristan is before it's too late."

Atem turned to Tea. "If you hadn't healed me, Tea, I would barely even be able to walk. Bakura has some sort of super speed—he's too strong for me."

"Bakura is a Mutation?" Yugi asked. Atem nodded, feeling like he could explode with frustration.

"Alright, I got a plan," Joey said suddenly. The others stared at him. Joey had a plan? How often did that happen? "Atem'll search for Bakura and Tristan. Then I'll keep Bakura busy since I can't get hurt. Then Tea will go get Tristan and heal whatever wounds he's got."

The plan was sound. "What do I do?" Yugi asked.

Joey frowned. He was at a loss. "Ya can, uh, go wit' Tea," he answered finally. "You're small; Bakura'll barely notice ya."

Atem began to search for Tristan's aura. He picked up on it quickly, which meant that Tristan was still in the city and he was still alive. Atem and the others took off, each with their unique missions, and Yugi trailed along, not really sure if he had any purpose in this mission at all.

* * *

Tristan was thrown down into a wooden chair in a generic room. Bakura bound him to the seat for good measure, just like he had bound up Tristan's arms and legs before Tristan had even see him. So Bakura was a Mutation too. But how was he alive? Whatever the reason, it wasn't good news.

"I wonder whether I should kill you now or use you as one of my mind slaves," Bakura said ponderously. "But I don't want the pharaoh messing up my plans again."

"Ya know why Atem beat you before?" Tristan asked, displaying every bit of bravado within him. "'Cause he's better than you, that's why! Five-thousand years and some fancy new powers aren't going to change that!"

"You don't understand," Bakura said, grinning. "I've already beaten him. I have you within my grasp, and I can do whatever I want with you. I'm going to make sure that the pharaoh and all of his friends are devastated when they find you, one way or another."

Bakura continued to think about Tristan's doom for another few minutes. Then he stood up and pulled a menacing-looking knife out of his jacket pocket. "I've decided to kill you. I can always possess another one of the pharaoh's friends."

Bakura strode towards his captive, and Tristan instinctively tried to kick at Bakura before he realized that his legs were still tied up. But he snapped the cords as if they were twigs, and he kicked Bakura so hard that he flew backwards and left a dent in the wall. Tristan stared wide-eyed at himself. How had he done that?

He looked up and Bakura was gone. He must have run away when he saw that Tristan was going to put up a fight. Experimentally, Tristan tugged on the cords that tied his hands behind his back. They broke easily. "Dude, this is the best power ever!" Tristan exclaimed aloud. Super strength! He'd be able to rub this one in Joey's face for a long time.

Joey, of course, would argue that it didn't matter how strong a person was; if Tristan fought Joey, Joey would win because he couldn't get hurt. But in the long run, super strength was far more useful. "Oh, yeah," Tristan told himself, and he walked out of the room he was in onto the street. He just _had _to tell the others about this.

* * *

"This is a problem. A big problem," Atem stated. "It nearly took a miracle for us to defeat Bakura last time. Now he has super speed?" He sighed. "But he, apparently, is the least of our problems. Bakura has a master."

"It doesn't matter what mutations Bakura or his master has," Tea said. "We have mutations too." She looked guiltily at Yugi. "Well, almost all of us," she corrected. Yugi looked at the floor.

"We'll find him and we'll take care of him. We just need to be careful. Bakura could have a whole bunch of Mutations on his side," Tristan said. "We need to watch our step so we can find out what we're getting into."

Atem nodded at this wisdom. "It's not exactly what I would have hoped for, but it's the best thing for us to do at this point. We'll wait it out."

Yugi felt oddly… inadequate. He felt like Lois Lane in the middle of a Superman convention. He was surrounded by heroes, and he… he was just a normal kid. His adventures were over, just like he had told Atem before. The others' journeys were just beginning. He was already finished with his.

"I'm going to… take a walk, alright?" Yugi said, getting up.

"Yugi, are you sure it's safe?" Atem asked. "Bakura is still out there."

"He probably won't try again today. Tristan gave him a pretty good warning," Yugi replied genially. Atem nodded his consent, and Yugi walked. He walked, and he thought. But he had no one to tell his thoughts to, and that made his situation worse. So he walked to Serenity's house.

Serenity was surprised when she answered the door. "Oh, hi, Yugi," she said. "Did you find Atem? Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's fine," Yugi replied. "Serenity… would you like to go out for coffee with me?"

Serenity looked confusedly at him. But then she made an "oh" face and sat down on her porch steps. "Yugi, I know that you don't really love me," she said. Yugi stared at her. "You love Tea, and I'm sorry that she doesn't love you back." How did Serenity know all of this? Had someone told her? Was she a Mutation too, with the power to read every embarrassing thought in your head?

"I don't really want to date anyone who doesn't love me. Do you understand?" She was one of the most honest and polite people Yugi had met, even in a rejection. Her candor made Yugi hurt less. "You'll find someone that you can love and be loved by, and that's what you should be looking for." She smiled at him. "But why are you asking me this now? Isn't Joey still at your house?"

Yugi sat down next to her and sighed. "Tea and Tristan are Mutations too," he said, hoping that Serenity would understand and that he wouldn't have to explain. He had a feeling that she did understand, but she knew that it would be best for Yugi if he was forced to explain it. "And I'm not," Yugi went on.

Serenity just continued to smile at him. Yugi was encouraged by her warmth and simplicity—she wasn't judging, and that brought Yugi out of his shell. "When I'm around them now, I have this feeling like I don't fit in anymore. Like I'm the black sheep."

She still didn't respond. Yugi knew he had to keep going until he was finished. "And… and I wonder if they'll still… notice me if I'm not a Mutation too." That was it. That was the root of it all. "And it's not only that," Yugi said. "I mean, what if they notice me, but they think that I can't take care of myself? What if they always want to 'protect' me?"

"You don't want to feel inferior," Serenity said. "So you're jealous."

"Jealous?" Yugi asked. The word sounded so… _dirty _when he connected it to himself. But was he really jealous?

"You're not really jealous of their strengths. You're jealous because they share something that excludes you," Serenity said. "I understand. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone—your secret's safe with me."

She patted his shoulder and walked back inside, knowing that Yugi wanted to continue drifting until he found the strength and tolerance he needed to return to his house. Yugi did get up and wander down the streets for a while, rolling the information over in his mind.

He walked around a familiar corner and saw a familiar diner. It still had the "No Mutations" sign on the door. But this time, Yugi went inside. The place was somber and unfriendly, but Yugi sat down in one of the booths anyway. A buxom waitress walked up to him and appraised him, checking to make sure he didn't have any horrible deformities. Deformities like Atem had, Yugi thought.

"What can I get you?" she asked, now confident that Yugi was normal through and through.

"Why do you work here?" Yugi demanded suddenly. "How can you stand the sign on the door?" He stood up, his eyes swimming in tears of anger, misunderstanding, and frustration. "Think of all the people that you've hurt or offended! Think of all the money you've lost!"

The waitress backed away, and the other customers starting staring at him. "You're a horrible person for treating Mutations the way that you do," Yugi declared. "And you're horrible people for eating here when you know what this diner stands for!" he yelled to the diner's patrons.

He stormed out of the diner and ran down the street to the game shop. He would _never _become like those people. Never.


	5. September Blues

Yugi ran around his room, trying to keep the sleepies out of his head as he went through a mental checklist of things to stuff in his backpack. He had notebooks, pencils, pens, highlighters, a ruler, a protractor… He rustled through his stuff and threw the protractor aside. Who ever used that thing, anyway?

"Yugi, are you ready?" Atem called from downstairs. Never mind that it was Atem's first day going to public school in his entire life. He had been completely ready fifteen minutes ago.

"Uh, go on without me," Yugi bellowed back. "I'll catch up with you."

Atem sighed and walked out of the game shop, where Tea was leaning against their wall. She had walked with Yugi to school for the past seven years. She frowned when she saw that her walking partner was not there. "Where's Yugi?" she asked.

"He's still getting ready," Atem replied, sighing. "He wanted us to go on without him."

"That's strange," Tea noticed. "That's the first time I've walked without him to school since he came down with laryngitis. Are you sure something's not wrong with him?" she asked, sounding a bit uneasy.

Atem laughed cheerlessly. "Nothing more than his usual disorder." They began to walk. "This isn't the first time that Yugi's been acting strangely lately," Atem said suddenly. "Have you noticed that he's sort of… kept to himself in the last couple of weeks?"

Tea nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He hasn't been mean or anything, he's just…"

"Reserved," Atem finished. "And quiet."

"Maybe he just didn't want to go back to school," Tea said uncertainly. "I mean, he'd tell us if something was wrong, wouldn't he? I think he'd definitely tell you."

"I'd like to think so," Atem answered. But he, too, was uncertain. Yugi had been acting much less Yugi-like for the past couple of weeks. And his uncharacteristic behavior had been slowly increasing since the event with Bakura, from whom they had heard nothing. Also, Atem noticed, Yugi's attraction to Serenity had dissolved almost instantaneously. Maybe this had something to do with that unusually timed "walk" Yugi had taken on the day that Tristan had been kidnapped.

Then someone ran past them and pushed them aside, apparently unaware that they had been in his path. "Sorry!" the running teenager yelled hurriedly, and continued to speed along. Tea looked to see who it had been.

"Yugi! Yugi, it's us!" she called. Yugi came to screeching halt and came jogging back.

"Sorry," he repeated, panting. "Didn't see you."

"Explain how you were supposed to catch up with us if you couldn't even see us," Tea said, grinning amusedly at him.

Instead of laughing like he usually would have, Yugi shrugged and once again mumbled, "Sorry." The playful grin faded from Tea's face. She could usually count on Yugi to laugh at any joke she made, be it funny or not.

They continued to walk in dull silence until they reached school, where the bustle of activity swallowed up Yugi's small form. Atem felt a small inkling of trepidation. It was a new setting filled with strange customs and people. But Atem could handle anything, especially if he had his friends helping him. Then Atem realized something.

Yugi had proceeded without him.

* * *

Finally, after a tiring week, the first five days of school were over. Yugi dumped his backpack in the corner of the room and flopped down on his bed. His homework could wait. Right now he just felt exhausted.

The first day, Yugi had gone to lunch and noticed that the cafeteria had been split almost down the middle—half of the tables were filled with Mutations, while the other half held humans. As if by instinct, Atem and the others had gravitated toward the side with the Mutations. Yugi was sure that they'd expect him to follow. But he didn't belong on the Mutation side. He was human. And his friends were not. So where should he sit?

After a few seconds of nervous mental debate, Yugi had hurried with his friends over to the Mutation side and sat down. But he felt out of place. He didn't eat much, and he was anxious to get back to his classes for the first time in his life.

The second day, Yugi sat in the gymnasium listening to a lecture about prejudice and proper treatment of Mutations and the like. Atem had playfully nudged Yugi in the side and whispered, "I don't think you have to worry about that too much."

The third day, Yugi watched as Serenity sat down to eat lunch on the Mutation side of the tables with her two friends. One of those friends had gossamer dragonfly wings sprouting from her back, while the other set her Jell-O on fire using nothing but her mind. Serenity also had that out of place look of someone who didn't belong on the Mutation side, and Yugi felt comforted knowing that Serenity understood his predicament even more.

The fourth day, Yugi found out he just barely passed a mathematics review quiz, while Atem, who had only crammed over the summer, had gotten a perfect score.

And on the fifth day, Yugi had been pulled out behind the school and beaten in the abdomen by a group of Mutations. He now turned onto his side and held his stomach. So much for lack of prejudice, Yugi thought bitterly.

Atem walked in the door, placing his own backpack next to Yugi's and shedding his jacket. He noticed that Yugi was holding his mid-torso, as if in pain. "Do you feel alright?" he asked.

"Stomach ache," Yugi lied. He sat up. "So how was your first week of school?"

"Not nearly as bad as I had imagined," Atem replied cheerfully. "There were more Mutations there than I thought there would be." Atem's tentacles were writhing with his satisfaction, and Yugi realized that he must have thought that he would be one of the only Mutations there. No one could see his physical mutation through his school jacket, though. Yugi deviously wondered if Atem would have been as readily accepted if his tentacles had been apparent, and then he berated himself for his perverse thoughts.

"What about your week?" Atem asked, catching Yugi off guard. "You've seemed a little off recently. Are you alright?"

"Fine," Yugi said quickly. A little too quickly. Yugi wanted to undo his mistake, but it was too late—Atem's suspicions had already been raised. His tentacles straightened slightly, and Yugi knew that he was trying to sense Yugi's emotions more accurately. Yugi struggled to remain calm.

"Just a stomach ache, you said?" Atem asked with superhuman insight.

"That's right," Yugi replied. He felt as if he had been attached to one of those lie detector machines. From the slightly frustrated look on Atem's face, Yugi knew that he had passed this test flawlessly

"You've been keeping your own company more lately," Atem continued, not to be outdone. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry if I did. I didn't realize," Yugi answered. Another flawless answer.

Atem was searching his mind for another question. He was a master strategist, but Yugi had beaten him before and he could do it again. "How do you feel about Tristan's mutation?" he asked finally.

It was at this that Yugi's emotions spiked. Tristan's mutation? How could Atem have possibly known that Yugi was most upset when Tristan had discovered his mutation? Could he have already figured out what Yugi was feeling? Could he read minds as well as emotions?

Atem stared knowingly at him, and Yugi knew he had failed the test. It had been a goad, not a real question. Yugi's panic had alerted Atem to the truth. "Is there something that you want to tell me, Yugi?" Atem asked softly.

Yugi hung his head, searching for the words that would simultaneously express his feelings and also not offend Atem in the process. "Atem, I don't fit in with you and the others anymore," he said finally.

"What?" Atem asked.

"I don't fit in. Not anymore," Yugi repeated. "I'm on the wrong side of the cafeteria."

"Yugi, what on earth are you talking about?" Atem demanded.

"I'm the only Normal in the group," Yugi said. "You and Joey and Tea and Tristan all have powers, but I didn't get any. And I went over to the Mutation side of the cafeteria with you guys every day for lunch, but that's not the side I should be on. I'm not a Mutation."

"What, you think that means something?" Atem asked. "You think that means anything to us? Yugi, I understand what it's like to be the only one who's different in the group. I was the one who got my mutation first."

"I know that you understand what it's like to be the only Mutation in a group of Normals," Yugi said slowly. "But I don't think that you can understand what it's like to be the only Normal in a group of Mutations."

"What's the difference?" Atem asked. "That we have abilities and you don't? Yugi, we don't think any less of you because you don't have a mutation like we do!"

"No, you don't," Yugi agreed. "You don't think any less of me than what I am. But what I am is still less than you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Atem argued. "You're not inferior to me or any of the others."

"Yes, I am." Yugi put on a sad, soft, this-hurts-but-I-know-I'm-right smile. "I'm the past, and you guys are the future. My species is dying because nature wanted something better, and that's you."

Atem stared at him. "Yugi, what are you trying to say?"

Yugi shrugged, still wearing that irritatingly self-justified smile. "Friends are equals. We're not equals anymore."

"Yugi, listen to me!" Atem said, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders. Yugi recoiled instinctually, unaccustomed to Atem being so forceful with him. "You are still my friend. You are still our friend. I did not go to the Shadow Realm and back with you for us not to be friends. I know that understanding your place in the world is hard, but I want you to believe me when I say that it doesn't matter what side of the cafeteria you're on as long as you're sitting with people you love."

Yugi stared into Atem's eyes. They were sincere, and they were adamant. "But I'm just…"

"Never say that you are 'just' what you were born to be," Atem said comfortingly. Yugi saw that Atem believed that he was telling the truth, but was he telling the truth? Yugi still didn't know. But he wanted to believe, and he tried. "If you had only come to me sooner, I could have told you this before," Atem said, releasing his hold on Yugi's slender shoulders.

"Can we sit on the other side of the cafeteria, then?" Yugi asked nevertheless. Atem chuckled.

"Yes, that's fine. We can sit anywhere you like," Atem replied. "If you wish, we can take lunch in the bathrooms, although Tea might feel a bit uncomfortable." Yugi laughed, but stopped quickly when his stomach started hurting again.

Atem noticed this as well. With his natural intuition combined with his trained gamer's instinct and sensitive spines, he could detect almost anything out of the ordinary. "Stomach ache?" he asked again.

Yugi sighed. "No," he admitted, and he pulled up the bottom of his shirt, showing the just forming bruises.

Atem face reflected his rage as he saw them, and he looked in Yugi's eyes with a murderous expression. "Who did this?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"J-just some kids at school…" Yugi muttered. Sure, Yugi wanted the Mutations who had done this to pay, but Atem might possibly kill them for their crime if he had an opportunity to do so with impunity. Atem picked up on Yugi's reluctance.

"Do you want me to let this go?" he asked. Yugi, utterly relieved, nodded. "Fine," Atem replied, although his voice sounded strained. "But if this happens again—if any of this happens again—I must ask you to tell me. Alright?"

"Deal," Yugi agreed. Now that he had told Atem, now that he knew that Atem would not willingly leave him, Yugi felt a great weight come up off his shoulders. Yugi, Normal or not, was loved, and he was free.


	6. He Who Would Not Wake

"Our first week of school may have distracted us from more dire issues, but Bakura and his master are still out there," Atem mused. He had invited the entire gang over to discuss this. It was Saturday morning, and it was fairly early, so Joey and Yugi, the late sleepers, were yawning intermittently throughout the conversation.

"Wait," Tea interrupted. "We know that Bakura couldn't have brought himself back from the dead, but how do we know that he has a master? I mean, he could have, like, killed whoever brought him back."

"His voice was not his own," Atem answered. "It's one of the first signs of possession besides strange behavior. Do you remember the Big Five? When they took control of Tristan's body, Tristan's voice changed in accordance with each of them."

"But we still don't know anythin' about Bakura, while he probably knows all sorts o' stuff about us!" Joey exclaimed.

"Joey's right," Tristan agreed. "He's probably been watching us since I kicked his butt last time. I bet he knows all of our powers now, how powerful they are, when we use them…"

"Bakura's master intends to get to me through my friends. He will certainly target one of you next," Atem stated. "He won't go for Tristan again until he has control over a stronger Mutation. Joey is nearly impossible to harm, and he would fight back as well. Tea can heal…" He and the others turned towards Yugi.

"What?" Yugi asked, but he already knew what they were thinking. He was the weakest link and Atem's closest friend. If anyone was going to try to get to Atem, Yugi would obviously be the best choice.

"Yugi, it's not very safe for you to go out by yourself anymore," Atem explained gently. "Perhaps you should go with Joey or Tristan if you go anywhere. They have the strongest powers."

Yugi avoided their stares. He needed protection like some helpless child. "Come on, Yugi, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Tea said. She understood how he felt, and she was trying to cheer him up. "It's like witness protection. You… have something valuable, and some really powerful people are trying to take it from you." She really was trying her best, so Yugi smiled at her. She seemed pleased.

"Hey, Tea, maybe we should do this thing with you too," Joey suggested. "I mean, just 'cause you can heal yourself don't mean Bakura couldn't kill ya if he caught ya off guard."

Regardless of the pep talk she had just given, Tea fumed. "What? You think I need protection?" She glanced at Yugi, who had just moments before swallowed his pride for the better good. "Fine," she sighed.

"So neither Tea nor Yugi will go anywhere without either Joey or Tristan with them," Atem stated. "I'll search around town, see if I can sense Bakura's aura. If I can spy on him without him noticing me, I might be able to get him to lead me to his master so that I can find out who exactly he's working for."

"Looks like we got a plan," Tristan said. "So what next?"

"I'm going to start looking," Atem replied, standing up. "You can stay here if you want, guys, but if you're going to leave then Tristan should escort Tea home."

Tea nodded, and she and Tristan left. "Yug', you need anythin'?" Joey asked. Yugi shook his head. "Alright, you let me know if ya do, and I'll be here in a couple o' minutes."

"Sure thing, Joey," Yugi agreed. So everyone left Yugi by himself in the house. First, he tried to entertain himself by doing his homework, but his mind kept trailing off. Had Atem found Bakura yet? Who was Bakura's master? Why did they hate Atem so much? What if Atem got into trouble?

When his homework was over, he started to clean his room. Grandpa would be ecstatic when he saw it. But Yugi's mind was still restless. He was having a hard time just waiting around while his best friend was risking his life.

Hours passed. It had been noon when Atem had left—it was now nine in the evening, and it was getting dark. Yugi changed into his pajamas, having worn himself out by trying to think of activities all day, and waited sleepily on the couch, watching television. Atem would be back soon. Nothing had happened to him. Not like last time.

There was a sudden breeze. "That's strange," Yugi mumbled to himself. He had shut the window, but now it was open. Yugi got up, shut it again, and sat back down on the couch.

"Hello, Yugi."

"Atem?" Yugi asked, turning around. He was back! He was safe!

"Not quite," Bakura answered, and he grinned. Yugi felt fear sink in his stomach. His eyes widened. He was going to die.

* * *

An entire day of going in loop-the-loops, and nothing! Atem had searched all day long for Bakura, and he had ended up going around and around the entire time. Atem felt extremely frustrated, especially when Bakura was once again endangering his friends—endangering Yugi.

The game shop was still open, so he couldn't have been that late. It was still before ten o'clock. But the house was dark. Had Yugi gone to sleep?

Atem opened the door and walked inside. It was very quiet, and the windows were all shut and bolted, just as if it were bedtime. Atem stepped quietly into the bedroom; if Yugi was sleeping, he didn't want to wake him up. Sure enough, Yugi was deep asleep in his covers, lying on his side with one arm tucked in front of him and the other under his pillow. Atem smiled. He was cute when he slept.

Atem walked forward and put a loving hand on Yugi's sheet-covered shoulder. Yugi didn't wake. But something was wrong. Yugi was cold, very cold… far too cold. "Yugi?" Atem asked softly, hesitantly. He shook Yugi slightly. "Yugi?"

Yugi still didn't wake. Atem began to feel panic rise inside of him. "Yugi… Yugi!" Atem was shaking Yugi violently now. It would have hurt him, if he was still… "Yugi!" Atem yelled. "Yugi, wake up!" Yugi would not wake. Atem dropped to his knees and tears streamed down his face as they never had before. "Yugi…" His voice sounded small and choked. It was not the confident, commanding voice of a pharaoh. It was the frightened whisper of a boy.

Atem stopped trying to shake him, stopped calling out his name. Yugi would not answer. No, he would answer. No, he was dead. Yugi couldn't be dead. Yugi couldn't be dead! Atem had not failed!

Atem pulled back the covers, disgusted at the façade of Yugi sleeping. Yugi was not sleeping. Yugi would never wake up. Atem recoiled at the immense amount of blood that he saw on the sheets, on the mattress, on Yugi's star-dotted, sky-blue pajamas. His abdomen had been split open. His intestines were falling out.

Atem turned around and retched onto the floor. The viscera were disgusting; the coppery smell of the blood was overwhelming. Yugi could not be that mass of blood and flesh on his bed, wearing his pajamas. Yugi could not be so horrifying. That creature… whatever it was… was not Yugi. Yugi was gone. Yugi was dead, and Atem had failed.

* * *

The sun was shining. Yugi would have liked it, Atem thought. Yugi would have liked the fact that the sun was shining. Birds were tweeting, too, singing a song of happiness that Yugi would have sung if he was still here to see the sun shine. But he was not here. He had gone away, so far away that he could not be retrieved, and they had locked the remains inside of a prison of wood. They would bury it beneath the earth while Yugi's spirit was free.

Atem was not wearing black. Yugi would have worn black for another person if they had wanted it, but it would have been too morbid for Yugi. He would have wanted the sun to shine. So Atem was wearing jeans and a white shirt.

He held a single yellow rose in his hand. Yellow, the color of friendship. The color of the sun. The color of Yugi's bangs as they fell in front of his eyes. When the corpse was locked beneath the earth, Atem would throw a single yellow rose on the ground. It would not be for the corpse—Atem hated that wretched thing so vehemently that he would probably never return to this place, not even to read the short inscription on the unassuming plaque at the corpse's head. The rose was for Yugi.

"Beloved friend, beloved grandson, beloved partner. 1990 – 2007." That was all it said, the concrete block that was to be placed at this graveyard. It was all that really mattered to whoever else would read it.

But it was not all that mattered to Atem. What about the way he frowned when he was concentrating? What about the way his bangs shook when he laughed? What about the way that he blushed when you complemented him? What about how brave he was, how kind, how loving, how intelligent? One plaque could not stand as a monument to Yugi's existence on this earth. It could not be big enough to hold Yugi's love.

Grandpa was absolutely silent. He had lost his entire line now—his son, his daughter-in-law, and now his grandson—to murder. He had faced the horrible chasm of loss time and time again. He would cry later, alone, where no one would see him. He had to be strong now, for Yugi and for Atem, who was now his only heir.

Tea could cry no more. She had wept for days before this meaningless ceremony, and now she had no more tears left to shed. Her eyes were red and her face was pale. She had dark circles under her eyes from where she had not slept. She had known and loved Yugi longer than any of Yugi's other friends. She had been there for him through everything.

Tristan was staying impassive to comfort Serenity. She was weeping into his chest. Joey was crying too, silently. He was remembering how he had once picked on Yugi, even beaten him, for his small size and timidity. He had ridiculed Yugi. But Yugi, in all of his graciousness, had forgiven him in an instant, and they had become friends. Such close friends.

Someone they did not know what saying something they did not care to listen to. It didn't matter. Yugi was gone. Atem was paying much more attention to a man with blonde hair and sad green eyes that he did not recognize walk up to the service. This man, whoever he was, strode right up to the corpse's wooden cell and opened it up. Everyone was aghast.

"Stop it!" Tea yelled. "Stop it! Don't look at him, don't…" She burst into tears and sank to the ground. Atem walked up to the blonde man, his tendrils straight and short, ready to sever the hand that had defiled the sanctity of the ceremony, the hand that was now touching the pale corpse.

Then Atem stopped. Power was emanating from this man. And it was flowing straight into Yugi.

In an instant, Yugi's corpse shot up, gasping for breath like a fish and shaking with convulsions. But it was not as pale as it had been, and it did not seem as cold. It looked around frantically.

"Yugi…?" Atem breathed. But the corpse could not be him. Yugi was gone… wasn't he? Yugi's eyes fixed on him. They were distant, uncomprehending, and fearful, like the eyes of a feral animal.

"Yugi!" Atem rushed forward and embraced Yugi's body, embraced Yugi. Yugi was alive! But Yugi wriggled out of his grasp and clamored out of the casket. His eyes were wild, seeking escape. Atem thought he was going to run away.

The man that had been speaking over the corpse blanched. The two gravediggers ran for their lives. Yugi's friends and relatives surrounded Yugi, encircling him, and he sought escape even more desperately. Tea tried to touch him, but he recoiled and began to mumble. Atem could not understand a single word, and he wondered if Yugi had even intended to speak English.

"It's just us, Yug'," Joey said quietly. Yugi stared inquisitively at him, and then he ran from them with amazing speed, and he was out of the graveyard and across the street before the others could even think to react.


	7. No Member

"What did you do to him?" Atem demanded, holding the blonde man by the throat a foot above the ground. His rage gave him strength to rival Tristan's. "What did you do?"

Atem threw the blonde man to the ground, where he choked and sputtered. "I brought him back, I was trying to help!" the man said pleadingly. "I've never wanted this ability… never should have used it… but it was my fault that your friend was killed. I had the power to bring him back, so I did!"

"You… you're the one who brought Bakura back!" Atem exclaimed, and he punched the blonde man so hard that two of the man's teeth were knocked loose and the skin on Atem's knuckles split.

"Let me explain!" the blonde man begged. "My name… is Michael," he began. Atem glared at him impatiently. "I met a man… he m-made me do things… he made me bring back this Bakura."

"The same man who possessed Bakura possessed him," Tristan realized. "It wasn't his fault," he said to Atem to stop him from beating Michael further.

"Tell us who possessed you and tell us what happened to Yugi, and I'll let you go unharmed," Atem said. He glanced at Michael's jaw. "Unharmed from this point on," he corrected himself.

"I don't know his name," Michael said. "But he had blonde hair… really white blonde, like platinum… and he had these lavender eyes and super-tan skin."

"… Marik?" Atem asked. "Marik betrayed us?"

"Your friend's gonna act weird for a while," Michael continued. "They always do. They're not used to the earth anymore. He… he might not act like himself for a long time."

"Atem, you find him before he gets into any more trouble," Tea said. "We can worry about Marik later. Right now, we need to find Yugi and get him to remember who we are."

Atem nodded, and he set out running in the same direction that Yugi had gone. He followed Yugi's aura, which was stable and stationary, meaning he was unhurt and probably hiding somewhere. Atem ran through Domino's labyrinthine alleyways and found that Yugi had fled into a drain sewer.

Atem walked slowly through the water, for he didn't want to make too much noise. If Yugi heard him, he would run away again. Atem turned a corner. Yugi was sitting on the ground, up to his chest in muddy water. His eyes alone turned to Atem. The rest of him remained absolutely still. Perhaps he thought that Atem would not see him if he did not move, would not smell him if he was covered in street filth.

Atem ever so slowly bent down in the water until he was eye level with Yugi. "Hello," he said softly, warmly. Yugi flinched, but he did not run. His eyes were still searching and feral. "Yugi, do you remember me?" Atem asked.

Yugi started gibbering senselessly again. Atem worried. Did Yugi even speak English at all anymore? Or did his brain, his soul, and his body not connect well enough to function anymore? "My name is Atem, remember?" Atem prompted. He put his hand on his chest. "Atem," he said. He slowly put his hand on Yugi's chest, and Yugi began to shiver. "Yugi," he stated, and withdrew his hand.

Yugi's mouth opened. He was trying to form the sounds. "A-… A-… At-… A-tem," Yugi repeated finally.

"Atem, that's right," Atem said encouragingly. "My name is Atem. Do you remember me?"

"Member… remember…" Yugi muttered. "Remember Atem… Atem… Yugi's friend."

"Yes, yes, good," Atem said. "Atem is Yugi's friend. Atem won't hurt Yugi." Atem extended his hand, and Yugi took it. Even though Yugi was having trouble with pronouns, he could understand the meaning of "friend". Atem helped Yugi up and they walked out of the drain sewer. He led Yugi like a shepherd back to their house. Atem remembered that they had already gotten rid of Yugi's bed. The blood-soaked mattress had been unsalvageable.

Yugi stopped at the front door. Perhaps the enclosed space made him too nervous. "Atem won't hurt Yugi," Atem repeated. Yugi edged into the house, looking around for escape routes. Atem led him up to the living room and seated him on the couch. Atem noticed that before Yugi sat down, he turned around and looked behind the couch.

Yugi was wearing his school outfit. Atem had decided that the corpse be dressed in it, since Yugi seemed to like it and spent most of his days wearing it. Atem gently peeled off Yugi's jacket. He wanted to see if Yugi's stitches were still on his belly and if he would need Tea's attention. He started pulling up the bottom of Yugi's black tank top and Yugi's squeaked in protest and started mumbling again. Atem immediately retreated and raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Atem is Yugi's friend," he said. "Atem wants to make sure that Yugi is okay."

Atem tried again, and Yugi did not argue. Yugi did understand English, but he did not seem to remember how to say the words until they were spoken by another person. Atem lifted the hem of the shirt just above Yugi's belly button and no further. The stitches were gone. Michael must have healed him as well as resurrected him.

"Yugi okay?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi is okay," Atem replied. He sat down next to Yugi, who shrank back and clutched the arm of the couch as if for dear life. "Where did Yugi go?" Atem asked.

Yugi stared at him. "No member," he mumbled in response. Atem assumed that he meant that he didn't remember. Suddenly, Yugi leaned forward, poked one of Atem's tentacles, and hastily returned to the corner of the couch, watching from behind his knees to see how Atem and his tentacles would respond.

Atem peered quizzically at him. "What did you do that for?" he asked, though his tone was purely curious and not at all accusatory.

"Yugi—wants—make sure—Atem—is—Yugi's friend," Yugi answered, stitching together words Atem had used to form a strange sentence. "What—is—Atem?"

Atem smiled. "Atem is a Mutation," he replied. Yugi frowned, not understanding. "Atem is… another kind of human," Atem explained. "I have these"—he indicated his tendrils—"and they help me to feel things."

"Another kind human have these?"

"Uh… not all of them. Each Mutation has a unique deformity."

Yugi pouted. "Deformity not okay. Deformity hurt."

"Deformities don't hurt Mutations," Atem said patiently. "It's in our genetic code. We were supposed to be that way."

"Not deformity," Yugi stated simply. He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He was tired, Atem noticed. Yugi yawned.

"Looks like Yugi wants to sleep," Atem said, smiling. He was going to lead Yugi to his bed, but Yugi curled up right there on the couch like a cat and started to doze. Atem grabbed a blanket from the closet and threw it over Yugi's sleeping form. Hopefully, Atem thought, he wouldn't have to avoid pronouns tomorrow.

* * *

"Yugi's feeling a bit more comfortable with me, but he's still not acting like himself," Atem explained quietly as he got tea for Tea, Joey, and Tristan. "He speaks with broken sentences and refers to me and to himself in third-person. He barely recognizes me and he didn't even remember that I was a Mutation."

Joey looked up. "Then how'd he handle your…" He pointed to Atem's spines, which were hanging limply by his arms. They reflected his emotional exhaustion. He had mourned deeply for Yugi. Now Yugi was only partially back.

"He poked them to see what they'd do," Atem replied, smiling sadly.

"How do you think he'll react to us?" Tea asked. "You saw the way he acted when we were all around him."

"Now that he's had a chance to rest I think he'll…" Atem trailed off when he saw Yugi standing in the doorway. Yugi looked at each of them closely, and they couldn't tell whether it was Yugi staring at them or someone else.

"Hey, man," Tristan greeted. "How're you feeling?"

"Good," Yugi said. "Better. I just… just needed some sleep, that's all." Atem felt his hopes rise. Yugi was speaking in normal sentences again.

"Are you okay? Can we get you anything?" Tea asked. It took a while for the words to get into Yugi's brain, and he stared blankly at her while he processed her sentence.

"Fine," he answered. "I'd like something to drink, please." Each of the four Mutations immediately handed him their tea. Yugi took Atem's and sipped it slowly, wordlessly. The others glanced between him and each other, wondering what they should say.

"We'll need to get you another bed, Yugi," Atem said, filling in the abyss of silence. "I wasn't expecting you to come back to live with us."

"Guess you were wrong," Yugi said. His eyes bored unwaveringly into the top of the kitchen table.

"If there's anythin' you need, Yug', anythin'," Joey said, "we'll get it for ya. I mean, it must be rough… comin' back."

Yugi nodded silently. "Do you want some time to yourself?" Tea asked finally.

"Yes, thank you," Yugi said. Joey, Tristan, and Tea got up and left, looking back at Yugi uncertainly. Atem poured out their cups of tea into the sink and was about to walk out as well, but Yugi stopped him. "Please stay," Yugi requested quietly.

Atem sat down at the table and waited for Yugi to talk. "It… doesn't fit right," Yugi said. He sighed, searching for the right words to explain what no one had felt before. "The house… my body… my mind… it all doesn't feel right anymore. It's so unfamiliar…" Yugi held his forehead as if he had a massive headache. "I feel… sick. Shaky and weak, sort of. And delirious. Everything's spinning…"

Atem reached forward and took one of Yugi's hands. "No matter how long it takes, I will help you get better. And you _will_ get better. Look how much you have improved since yesterday."

"I guess so…" Yugi said quietly. "I just want to get something to eat and go back to sleep…"

Atem made Yugi some scrambled eggs and toast, and Yugi ate it hurriedly. It made sense that he would be hungry—his body hadn't eaten in a week. When he finished, he drifted back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. He just needed some sleep, that's all, Atem assured himself. He was going to be just fine.


	8. Humpty Dumpty

Over the next few days, Yugi slept less and less and became more and more outgoing. He smiled and laughed when Atem made a joke. He even started a conversation or two. He was becoming more like himself every day. But he was still distant.

Atem noticed that Yugi had developed a habit of talking to himself when he thought no one else could hear him. Sometimes he would still gibber in that nonexistent language he had spoken before. Once Atem caught him yelling viciously at thin air, screaming at whatever he was seeing that "for the final time, he didn't want to play." Atem had run in and stopped him, but Yugi never told him what he had been yelling at.

"I didn't mean to," Atem heard Yugi say as he walked past the living room door. "I'm sorry, please forgive…" There was silence. The imaginary person that Yugi was talking to had interrupted him. "It wasn't as if this was my fault, you know. I wasn't the one that did this… Maybe I am blaming you…. How can you say that? I-" Atem walked into the room.

"Oh, hi," Yugi said uncertainly. "What's up?"

"Talking to someone?" Atem asked. Yugi looked down. "I know that things aren't the way that they should be, but you shouldn't be ashamed. Your hallucinations are probably a result of your resurrection. You should tell me when you see something out of the ordinary. I'll help you figure out what's real and what's not."

Yugi sank down onto the couch. "I'm broken, aren't I?" Yugi asked despondently. "I came back wrong. I shouldn't be seeing things, I should just be normal Yugi, and I'm not normal Yugi, I'm broken…" His words faded into his mysterious other language, and Yugi began to cry. Atem sat next to him and held him.

"You are not broken," Atem said firmly. "You are Yugi. You still need time to adjust. I will help you, I promise, but you must not give up hope. I won't be able to do anything for you if you don't try."

"I'm… trying…" Yugi sobbed. "I'm trying, but it's so hard!"

"You'll be fine, Yugi. I'm here for you, no matter what happens. I'm here for you." Atem placed his chin on top of Yugi's head. Yugi was shaking. Maybe Yugi was broken or just a little cracked. Either way, Atem would find a way to put Yugi back together again. He had to.

* * *

"We have ta do somethin' 'bout Marik," Joey said angrily, grimacing as he walked back to the Mutou house with his friends from school. Getting Yugi re-enrolled was tricky considering that he had technically died, but a "mutation explanation" was always readily and unquestionably accepted by authority figures (and used quite often by others with less honest intentions). The principle and teachers didn't want to appear prejudiced. "I mean, he—he _killed_ Yugi," Joey went on. He glanced at Yugi to see if Yugi was offended, but Yugi didn't even seem to be listening. 

"I could find him," Atem said, "but it would very difficult to defeat him considering that he has the ability to control other people's minds."

"Maybe if we all ganged up on him at once, we could take him by surprise," Tea suggested. "That way we wouldn't give him a chance to possess us."

"It's a good suggestion," Atem said pensively. "But he's managed to avoid us so far. I searched for him for almost ten hours straight, and I didn't find him. It's as if he was leading me astray somehow…"

"Do you think that Marik's possessed somebody who's got the power to mess up other people's mutations?" Tristan asked. Atem nodded. "Man, this is hopeless! It's like he's got every power in the world at his disposal!"

"In a manner of speaking, he does," Atem said. "He has the ability to possess any Mutation and use their powers as his own, giving him an immense advantage over the rest of us."

Joey growled. "I can't take this anymore! We can't just sit around and let Marik toy with us! We gotta take da fight ta him, or we'll be lookin' over our shoulders until Marik decides ta send Bakura after one o' us again!"

"You think we should just attack him blindly?" Atem asked.

"You got any better ideas?" Joey demanded. Atem was silent. "Then what are we waitin' for! Let's finish this!"

"I guess it's the only thing we can do," Tea agreed. She sounded as reluctant as Atem felt. "We don't want… I mean…" She looked at Yugi, who still had a faraway look on his face. Was he listening to his hallucinations instead of them? Did he even realize that they had been talking?

"We know, Tea," Tristan said. "Tonight we'll see if we can find Marik and stop him."

They said their goodbyes and Atem gently led Yugi back to the house. "Did you hear what we said today?" Atem asked him. "About going to see Marik?"

Yugi looked up at him for the first time since the morning. "Of course I did, Atem. I was standing right there," Yugi said lightly.

"You didn't say anything," Atem explained.

Yugi shrugged. "Didn't have anything to say," he replied shortly.

"I'm going to ask you to stay here," Atem began softly. Yugi hadn't stayed home by himself since he had been murdered. Yugi did not try to hide the fact that he was nervous and openly shuddered. "I think that it will be safest for you," Atem said. "If Marik is in direct combat with us, then he won't be able to control Bakura. You'll be alright, I assure you. I won't let that happen again."

"Promise me that I'll see you and the others again," Yugi begged. "Promise me you'll come back."

"I promise," Atem whispered. Slowly, sadly, Yugi nodded. Atem patted his shoulder and walked into the street. The others were already waiting for him. This time, Atem tried to search for Bakura instead of Marik. He quickly sensed his aura and followed it all the way to the docks. The setting was horribly familiar. This was where Yugi and Joey had dueled when Marik had possessed Joey before. Now he was up to his old tricks, for whatever reason.

"Be careful…" Atem said quietly, glancing around for any signs of life. There was no yacht docked nearby like last time. Marik was on shore.

"How is Yugi, pharaoh?" Marik asked from above. The others looked around. Marik was laughing at them from the roof of a warehouse. "I hear that one of my mind slaves betrayed me, but it's all for the best. I can kill your friend twice."

"You will leave Yugi alone!" Atem ordered as Marik casually stepped down the fire escape. "Why are you doing this, Marik? Why have you come back to torture us?"

"Because I deserve retribution for what you did to me, pharaoh," Marik seethed. "You thought you had destroyed me when you sacrificed my soul to the shadow realm. But no one can defeat me!"

"Hey! You're not Marik," Tea realized. "You're Marik's evil spirit!"

"Correct, little Tea," Marik said, grinning. "And my other half seems to have stumbled across a very interesting power, one that has served me well in my quest for vengeance. One that I've used on Bakura and the boy, Michael. One that I intend to use on you."

Marik fixed his eyes on Tea. "How familiar," he said. "I believe my other half possessed you once before."

"And it didn't work, did it?" Tea retorted. "I believe in my friends, and they'll always be here for me. If you possess me, it won't work for long. They can bring me back to my senses."

"Let's see if they can bring you back from the dead!" Marik yelled maniacally. A white blur sped out of nowhere and collided with Tea, sending her crashing to the ground. Bakura then turned on Tristan, who swung madly at the air but was unable to make contact with his enemy. Bakura stilled tauntingly for a moment, and Atem took that opportunity to secure a choke hold on Bakura while he had stopped. Joey jumped into the brawl himself.

While the men fought bravely, Marik strode over to Tea. Her knees and bare legs were skinned, but they were healing quickly. Before Tea could run from him, Marik had reached forward and securely grabbed her jaw. "I'd like to test your theory, Tea," he growled, and he entered her mind and possessed her in an instant.

He left her kneeled on the ground as he and Bakura fled. Joey ran after them for a minute, but they disappeared. "That's right, run away!" he bellowed brashly.

Atem panted. Bakura had put up a strong fight, leaving Atem with a split lip. But his beating wasn't nearly as bad as it had been last time. It was nothing that Tea couldn't fix, however. He walked over to her. "Tea, are you alright?" he asked, extending his hand to help her up.

She laughed—no, she cackled. "I'm just fine," she said. Her voice sounded strange, like someone else was trying to force their words through her throat. Atem backed away.

"No…" he breathed. Tea laughed again and ran off to where Marik and Bakura had gone.

Tristan stared in between them. "Tea, she… she couldn't be…"

"Marik possessed her," Atem growled. He clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails punctured his palms. "Marik possessed Tea, and he killed Yugi. And I let all of it happen!" He screamed in anger and frustration. "We have to stop him," he seethed. "We have to stop him before he can cause any more trouble. But how? Together we can face Bakura, but Marik's power is too strong for any of us."

"I don't know, man," Tristan answered. "I don't know what we're going to do."


	9. Insanity with Benefits

Alright, everybody. This is it for Mutation. I hope that you all enjoyed it, because it was a pleasure to write.

Thanks to **Deviousdragon, A.YamiYugi, Alex Fisher, DragonZap, dragonlady222, Shamise, Naomi-Yuko, YamiKoi, **and **Cheeky-eyes **for reviewing!

Thanks to **Alex Fisher** and **Dragon of the Apocalypse** for favoriting!

Thanks to **Alex Fisher, Deviousdragon, InkedButterfly, Panguins-in-American-Oh-my, Shamise, **and **Skittles the Sugar Fairy** for alerting!

And thanks to everybody who read. You guys rock.

* * *

"I promised Yugi," Atem said suddenly as he stood in front of his front door. "I promised him that we'd all return safely. I broke my promise to him. What am I going to say?" 

"It ain't your fault, Atem. Ya did your best," Joey said encouragingly. "Yug's gonna understand that."

"I don't know what Yugi's going to do anymore," Atem retorted. "Yugi's nearly insane, Tea's possessed, and Bakura's back all because of-"

"Marik," Tristan interrupted. "This is Marik's fault, not yours. You're the good guy, remember?"

Atem didn't respond. He opened up the door and walked upstairs. He heard talking. It was probably Yugi gibbering to himself again. It made Atem's guilt double to hear him like that. Atem stepped into the kitchen, Joey and Tristan close behind him. "Yugi?" Atem asked softly. For the first time, Yugi did not look up. He just kept talking to himself. Atem put his hand on Yugi's shoulder.

Yugi jumped up, shouting madly. He backed up to the counter and sank down to the ground. "Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it," he said over and over again. He held his eyes and leaned his forehead on his knees, willing the images in his mind to go away.

Atem rushed over to his side. "Yugi, it's not real. It's just me. It's alright," he said soothingly. But Yugi did not come back to himself. He grew more distressed with every word. Atem hooked his hand under Yugi's chin and forced him to look into his eyes. "It's just me."

Yugi stared into Atem's eyes and found nothing comforting there. He pushed Atem away and ran into the bathroom. Atem heard him lock the door. "What's wrong with Yugi?" Tristan asked, bewildered. "He usually trusts you."

"I think that his psychosis has gotten dramatically worse," Atem said sadly. "Possibly because he was home alone like he was when he was killed. I have no idea what he sees me as."

Joey stormed up to the bathroom door. "Yug', we don't wanna hurt ya, but if you don't come out o' there we're gonna have to break this door down," he stated. Atem grimaced at Joey's tone. It would only frighten Yugi more.

"G-get away from me, m-monsters!" Yugi stammered.

"Yugi, please, just listen to my voice," Atem said. "I don't know what I look like to you or if I could be considered a monster or not. But I know that neither I nor my friends intend to harm you. Do you believe me?"

"… You don't want to hurt me?" Yugi repeated.

"Yeah, man. We, uh, come in peace," Tristan said spontaneously. They waited for a moment as Yugi was silent. Then Yugi opened up the door. He refused to look at them, though.

"I g-guess I can trust you," Yugi said softly. "You haven't tried to hurt me so far, and you sounded like you meant what you said. But what do you want with me?"

"Yug', we're gonna hafta ask ya ta go out on a limb for us, 'kay?" Joey asked. Yugi nodded uncertainly. "We're your friends—Joey, Tristan, and Atem."

Yugi's eyes widened. "What happened?" he asked, now staring at them.

"You are hallucinating again," Atem explained. Yugi held his forehead and closed his eyes. He was fighting the false images. When he opened his lids again, he saw the real world.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…" Yugi couldn't find the words, but Atem nodded his understanding. "Where's Tea?" They had expected that inevitable question, but they still weren't ready to answer.

"Marik… possessed her while we were fighting Bakura," Atem said finally. "She's under his control now."

"Tea… But you have to get her back!" Yugi said. "You have to go back there and face Marik and get Tea back!"

"Yugi, you don't understand," Atem explained gently. "This is the third time we've tried to attack Marik or Bakura face-to-face and this is the third time we've lost. We can't defeat them ourselves. They are too powerful for us."

"So… you're just going to give up?" Yugi asked. "You're going to let Tea be Marik's slave for the rest of her life?"

Atem, Joey, and Tristan sank with guilt. It sounded horrible when Yugi put it that way, but they didn't have any other choice. "Marik's power is too strong, Yugi," Atem said sadly. "If we went back, Marik would just possess us or even worse, kill us."

"I know, but I can't accept that we've lost Tea forever!" Yugi exclaimed. "There has to be another solution!"

"If you got any ideas, you let us know, Yug'," Joey said. "'Cause right now, we're stumped."

"I'm sorry I haven't been much help so far," Yugi lamented. "I'll try to think of something."

Atem realized something. "Yugi, you could be the answer to everything," he said suddenly. "I have an idea." Yugi looked up at him. "It might not work, but it's the best plan we have."

* * *

"Now Tea is mine, and the rest of the pharaoh's friends are soon to follow," Marik muttered to himself. Tea sat motionless on a nearby bed, while Bakura stood in the corner, gazing blankly at the floor. "I'll get rid of that Tristan next. His powers could prove to be problematic." 

An unexpected knock rapped on the front door. Marik stared levelly in its direction. Who could be behind it, he wondered. Bakura walked over and opened it up. Yugi stood there with tears streaming down his face, and Marik laughed aloud at the sight. "So the pharaoh's resorting to sending his human to come fight me? Pathetic!"

"I'm not here to fight you," Yugi retorted. "I'm here to join you."

"Why would you do something like that?" Marik demanded.

"Atem… Atem's been mean to me… He's treating me like I'm nothing!" Yugi yelled. "I can't stand feeling that I'm less than him anymore. I want to help you take revenge. I want to make the pharaoh pay."

Marik appraised him. The boy did seem fairly distraught. Maybe he was telling the truth. Either way, Marik would be able to break the pharaoh a little bit more when he put Yugi under his control and sent Yugi after him. Marik smiled at the thought of the two Mutou brothers at each others' throats. One of them would have to kill the other.

"Then you will get your wish," Marik said. He entered Yugi's mind and was shocked. It was chaos. The line between reality and imagination had been blurred so much that the two were almost indistinguishable. He tried to secure a hold on the boy's consciousness, but it kept slipping out of his mental grasp.

Marik retreated, panting. Yugi smiled. "Atem was right," he said. "Your powers don't work on someone who's technically crazy. I guess insanity has its benefits." Yugi walked up and stared inquisitively at Marik. "Marik, why did you do it?" he asked softly. "I thought we were friends."

"Marik isn't—I'm not—Get out of my sight!" Marik exclaimed incoherently.

"Marik?" Yugi asked. "Is that… you?"

Marik held his head. "Get out of my head!" he yelled. Yugi backed away in fright. Marik moaned in pain and fell to his knees. He sat there, shivering.

"Marik…" Yugi muttered.

Marik looked up. His lavender eyes were clear now—confused, but friendly. "Yugi, what are you doing here?" he asked. Tea took a sudden breath and looked around. Bakura came to himself and began screaming incoherently. Tea picked up a nearby vase and smashed it over Bakura's head. Bakura passed out.

Marik and Yugi stared at her. She stared back at them. "Where's Atem and Joey and Tristan?" she asked. She didn't remember anything that had happened to her after the docks, just like Marik didn't remember and Bakura didn't remember.

Yugi sat down and explained it to everyone but Bakura, who could hear nothing in his present condition. Marik looked aghast at the things he had done. "This is all my fault," he said at the end of Yugi's narration. "I brought Bakura back to life… I killed you… I betrayed our friendship."

"No, it was your power. It wasn't your fault," Yugi argued, shaking his head. "I know that it must be hard for Mutations to deal with their abilities. I know that it must be scary and lonely to be so dangerous to the people you love. So… I forgive you, Marik. And I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you."

"What are you going to do now?" Tea asked Marik.

Marik sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm going to go back to Egypt. There are too many unpleasant memories here." Marik glanced over at Bakura. "And what do you plan to do with him?"

Yugi thought about it for a moment. "Bakura was evil to begin with," he mused. "He didn't deserve to come back. But I don't feel right with just killing him. Maybe a mental institution will take him."

"Yugi?" Tea asked. "What… will you do?"

"I'll… I'll be alright," Yugi said, blushing. "I mean, I'm getting better… I just need some more time, that's all." Tea nodded uncertainly. But they both knew that it was his mental disorder that had saved them, one that had been showing no true signs of diminishing for a while. Maybe, they both thought, Yugi would never get better. Maybe he would never return to the happy personality that he once possessed.

_

* * *

Three months later…_

Yugi stared into Peter's eyes. They seemed to swirl and glow. They beckoned Yugi to come into their depths and stay and be comfortable. Yugi felt himself relax and disconnect with his body until he was staring contentedly at nothing in particular, a soft smile on his lips.

Atem watched the process closely, his tentacles tuned for mischief. If this Peter did anything to his Yugi, he was going to pay dearly.

Peter was a superhuman hypnotherapist, and he had offered to help Yugi with his mental illness. They met in the neurotics' ward when Atem had taken Yugi into the hospital to see if anyone could help with his hallucinations.

"Hello, Yugi," Peter said genially. Yugi smiled at him. "Tell us what happened after you died."

"Don't remember," Yugi replied cheerfully. Peter was stunned. His hypnotic persuasions had never failed before. Yugi must have not remembered at all, not even in the deepest core of his being. But this meant that Yugi's psychosis was not caused by post-traumatic stress.

"Listen to me, Yugi," Peter continued. "Your friends are your friends. Your world is your world. You don't see anything other than what is real."

"I don't see anything other than what is real," Yugi repeated.

"Wake up, Yugi," Peter commanded. Yugi blinked suddenly and straightened.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"That's for you to say," Peter answered. "Do you see anything unusual? Anything that shouldn't be there?"

Yugi looked around for a moment. Atem held his breath. "Everything's normal," Yugi said finally. Atem exhaled happily and embraced Yugi.

"You'll have to keep an eye out for me," Peter said, standing up and getting ready to leave. "You know where to find me—neurotics' ward, just like last time."

"Thank you," Yugi said gratefully. "If there's any way we can repay you…"

"Nah, I still live at home; I don't need anything," Peter replied, shrugging. "See ya around, Yugi."

Peter saw himself to the door, and Yugi leaned back in his chair. The kitchen wouldn't be turning into a hellish nightmare-scape anymore. His friends wouldn't change into horrifying distortions of themselves. He could, for the first time in four months, relax completely.

The snow was alighting gently onto the window, making a soft pitter-patter sound. It was cold and dark outside, but it was warm and bright inside. It was comfortable. Atem would know the exact temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and electric charge of their surroundings. Yugi didn't care. He didn't need to know.

Tristan and Joey were probably having some sort of mock battle in the street. Tristan would throw Joey into the wall, and Joey would get up, unharmed. Yugi didn't care. He didn't like to fight.

Tea and Serenity were probably enjoying a cup of tea or hot cocoa while Serenity made a snack. Serenity would cut her hand on a knife, and Tea would heal her. Yugi didn't care. He could heal well enough on his own.

Marik was probably avoiding the crowds in Egypt. He would _persuade_ someone to leave him alone while he led his solitary life. Yugi didn't care. He didn't want to live a solitary life.

"Are you alright?" Atem asked.

Yugi looked over at Atem and his tentacles and grinned. "Yeah."


End file.
